THE WELSH REVIVAL.

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THE WELSH REVIVAL. THE ATTITUDE OF WELSH CHURCHMEN. IN the course of a pastoral letter just issued to his clergy the Bishop of St. David's says :— The religious revival which now stirs the hearts of the people in many parts of Wales, has I am sure, your serious attention, and you may desire to receive some words of counsel upon it from me. I had, a few weeks ago, an oppor- tunity of conferring upon the subject with our canon missioner, the rural dean of East Gower, and the clergy of the parishes in that deanery, which had come under the influence of the revival. What I learnt at that helpful con- sultation confirmed my previous conviction that our attitude towards it should be an atti- tude of sympathy, watchfulness, and prayer. It is a comfort for us at a juncture so important, and therefore so difficult, to pray that we may have a right judgment in all things by the Holy Spirit, among whose sevenfold gifts are the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel, and the spirit of knowledge. This movement, which has suddenly brought spiritual realities to the forefront of public in- terest in Wales, calls for our sincere sympathy, I know from my personal intercourse with the clergy that there has been among us a growing sense of our need of deeper spiritual life. Among other indications of this sense of need on the part of both clergy and laity may be mentioned the establishment of the Diocesan Mission by my predecessor, its growing hold upon the diocese, together with the evidence which has reached me from many quarters of the Divine blessing which has attended its quiet work. Sympathy with the spiritual object of the present revival will be in proportion to our sense of our own spiritual needs. Wales has derived in the past great and permanent benefit from religious revivals. The grave danger to the social and personal life of the Welsh people from the rapid growth of indifference during recent years should make us all thankful for a revival of the religious fervour of former days. Underneath all our unhappy divisions there is latent a fundamental spiritual unity among all Christian believers, and there is a profound law of communion in spiritual things whereby 'whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.' It is to be hoped earnestly that at a time when a special subject of vital importance and much complexity has illustrated painfully differences of conscientious conviction the present revival may serve to re- mind us that amidst all our differences all Welsh Christians have in common, as a basis of spiritual sympathy, great spiritual needs, which can only be fulfilled by that one and self-same Spirit' of whom alone can come, without the sacrifice of any principle committed to our charge, 'lowliness and meekness, with long- suffering, forbearing one another in love; en- deavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Sir James Joicey on the teaching…

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Sir James Joicey on the teaching of Welsh. Sir J. Joicey, M.P.,has a residence in Mont- gomeryshire, and takes great interest in all movements affecting the life of the people. On Monday last he presided at an Eisteddfod held in Newtown, and in the course of an address from the chair said" the Eisteddfod was something peculiar to Wales. Its origin was lost in antiquity. Long before any record existed he felt sure that the bards were most influential men in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia. In other parts of Europe there were similar posts and appointments, because the minstrels of the old days were the only means of rousing the people. In times of peace they sang of love and peace, and in times of war they could inspire those who had to fight for their country. He felt sure that if they could only go back to the pre record times they would find they exercised a powerful influence for good amongst all the people with whom they came in contact. On occasions such as that evening he wished he enjoyed the power of speech of the old bards. He did not know whether any of his family would live in Wales after he had gone, but if so he hoped they would consider it their duty to see that their children spoke the Welsh tongue. He thought they in Wales were wise in their generation to stimu- late the young people to competitive efforts in connection with their eisteddfodau."

AN EISTEDDFOD CHAIRMAN AND…

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AN EISTEDDFOD CHAIRMAN AND THE REVIVAL. Presiding at the Annual Meirion Eisteddfod at Dolgellau on Monday, Mr. J. P. Edwards, Liverpool, in the course of a short address, referred to the revival and the Eisteddfod. After commenting on the wave of wealth and pleasure which had been sweeping over England, he said it was a very healthy sign that the recoil had come from Wales. It was very easy to cast unfavourable reflections on all such movements, but if any movement was to be judged by its results, the Welsh revival had more than justified itself. Crime had decreased in a large degree and other doubtful things had been done away with. It was a wonderful fact, and let those ex- plain it who may, that before this revival had taken hold of the people, where bitterness and hatred prevailed, peace and good-will now reigned, and outstanding debts had been paid. He read in the newspapers that in many places eisteddfodau had been abandoned owing to the revival. It seemed to him to be a great mistake, for the reason that history and ex- perience clearly showed that human nature wanted recreation, both physical and intellectual. They had to provide recreation for the people, but the Eisteddfod was an educational and elevating factor in the character of the nation, and he would advise them to be slow indeed to give up such institutions which contributed to the intellectual, religious, and moral strength of the Welsh people.